Thoughts on the Bears’ March moves

For the Chicago Bears, March has been a month full of change. Exits, arrivals, trades, plus one surprise retirement. Nearly two dozen roster spots are open. And when the Bears return to the grass later this spring, their transition into 2026 will come with challenges.

Since the month began, nine players have been added to the mix, and 12 players who started at least one regular-season game in 2025 have departed.

So where does that leave coach Ben Johnson’s team in its bid to repeat as NFC North champions? How will the Bears continue to strengthen the roster in the upcoming stages of the offseason? Which roster holes are the most significant right now? There’s a lot to ruminate on and much to consider.

I’ve been thinking about those compensatory picks

You know the ones, the two third-round selections the Bears hoped to receive from the league after the Atlanta Falcons hired assistant general manager Ian Cunningham as their GM. Only the league — after Atlanta created a president of football position in January and subsequently hired Matt Ryan — deemed Cunningham was not the Falcons’ primary football executive and thus ruled the Bears were not entitled to third-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

It’s all linked to Resolution JC-2A, a provision enacted late in 2020 to promote diversity and reward organizations that developed minority coaches and front-office personnel into head coaches and GMs.

By now, it has been well established — and quite frankly, in Chicago, over-discussed. In the spirit of the provision, the Bears should have been rewarded for Cunningham’s three-season run at Halas Hall, which became his springboard to the Atlanta GM job. To that end, the disappointment of Bears fans is understandable, even if the outrage has been spiked by obvious self-interest.

Give us those damn draft picks!!!

Still, in the league’s letter-of-the-law defense, bending precedent even with acknowledgment of the Falcons’ somewhat unconventional situation could create too much gray area up the road with teams potentially incentivized to massage titles and job descriptions for draft compensation benefits.

With all that established, it seems timely to review the true value of those third-round selections by examining the players taken with the JC-2A compensatory picks.

Los Angeles Rams

Baltimore Ravens

New Orleans Saints

Cleveland Browns

Kansas City Chiefs

Detroit Lions

Then, of course, there are the San Francisco 49ers, the franchise that has collected the most JC-2A compensatory picks over the years, developing Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel and DeMeco Ryans into future head coaches for the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and Texans; and Martin Mayhew and Ran Carthon into GMs (Washington Commanders, Titans).

Players San Francisco selected with JC-2A picks include cornerback Ambry Thomas, kicker Jake Moody, receiver Danny Gray, tight end Cameron Latu and nickelback Upton Stout III. The 49ers also included other JC-2A comp picks in trades that helped them acquire defensive end Chase Young, quarterback Trey Lance and safety Ji’Ayir Brown.

Regarding the picks themselves, there are few obvious conclusions to draw — other than to note that a team’s ability to sustain championship-contending success for a half-decade or longer likely doesn’t hinge on a pair of Day 2 comp picks.

That doesn’t, of course, diminish the Bears’ argument. And it’s a safe bet Poles and others in the organization will continue to voice their displeasure.

Perhaps more will surface on the topic at next week’s league meeting in Arizona. For now, life moves on. And like a phantom foul that draws a penalty flag in a close game, the Bears will accept their fate and focus forward.

I’ve been thinking about the Bears’ left-tackle situation

It’s uncertain at this moment. Still. And a redo of 2025’s training camp competition to identify a starter might soon emerge.

Barring the use of a draft pick to add a potential starter, the Bears will walk into organized team activities in May with fingers crossed they can again bring the best out of Braxton Jones, whom they gave an incentive-loaded one-year contract this month, offering him the opportunity to re-establish himself after a bumpy 2025.

Or perhaps the team succeeds again in further accelerating Theo Benedet’s development.

Or maybe newcomer Jedrick Wills becomes the pupil who takes best to coaching and gets his career back on track after significant knee issues limited him to just four starts and 245 snaps over his final 2 1/2 seasons in Cleveland.

Poles has optimism Wills will unite with offensive line coaches Dan Roushar and Kyle DeVan and return to peak form.

“If you go back to early in his career, before the injury, he was playing at a really high level,” Poles said. “He’s a guy who we want Dan and Kyle to lean into. We have phenomenal offensive line coaches, two really good ones who do a fantastic job developing players.”

Wills’ visit earlier this month — before the Bears signed him — convinced Poles there was a connection. Poles knows how Roushar and DeVan coach. And he believes Wills has the wiring and temperament to respond. “He’s willing to put in the work,” Poles said.

Time will tell, of course, particularly with Wills’ time in Cleveland marred by concerns about his toughness, desire and passion for the game.

As for the knee injury that sent Wills’ career on its significant detour? He originally suffered a season-ending medial collateral ligament tear in his left knee in early November 2023.

The next year, the knee injury prevented Wills from playing in the first two games and the fourth. After he hyperextended his knee against the Cincinnati Bengals, he sat out the next week against Baltimore — “I made a business decision not to play,” Wills later told Cleveland reporters — and was benched and moved to a reserve role.

After that season, Wills said he had an osteotomy that ultimately kept him out of the entire 2025 campaign as well. That procedure, he said, was about correcting the alignment in his left leg.

“It was a matter of just letting that heal and letting my knee get healthy,” Wills said after signing with the Bears. “So it took a little bit longer than just the regular injury. But (the knee) is doing better now.”

At his best, Wills believes his pass protection is a strength. His ability to get out in space is notable, too. The next step is uniting with Roushar and DeVan and dedicating himself to furthering his development. A starting job is open on the Bears’ line. But there are several interested candidates.

“Like any position, we want competition,” Poles said. “We want guys to rise to the level. At some point, when we get to September, someone’s going to take that job. I’m excited to see how that works out.”

I’ve been thinking about April 23-25

Save the dates.

That’s when the NFL Draft will occur. And the Bears hold seven selections in their wallet with an opportunity to stamp an exclamation point on their offseason roster remodeling.

Without an ultra-aggressive trade up, Poles won’t be selecting inside the top 10, which he did in 2023 (Darnell Wright), 2024 (Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze) and 2025 (Colston Loveland). So the prospect of adding a true blue-chip player becomes more difficult. Still, with the 25th pick, the consensus in league circles is the Bears should love the menu of players available to them.

(In various mock drafts already this spring, The Athletic has played out scenarios in which the headliner of this year’s Bears draft class has been Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, Missouri edge rusher Zion Young and Toledo safety Emannuel McNeill-Warren.)

In short, the Bears can justify going in one of several directions in Round 1. And with three more selections the next night — at Nos. 57, 60 and 89 — a draft advertised as very deep at positions such as edge rusher, safety, cornerback and receiver will provide flexibility in the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure excursion.

Four years ago, during his introductory news conference at Halas Hall, Poles offered the following mission statement: “We’re going to build through the draft. We’re going to acquire young, fast and physical football players. We’re going to be selective through free agency. And we’re going to connect evaluation with valuation. We’ll have a relentless approach to fix our weaknesses. And we’re going to (exhibit) great self-awareness of who we are.”

The next big test comes next month — April 23-25.

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